Thirty states had joined the federal government’s new school-choice tax credit as of mid-September, and Treasury projects the program could fund as many as 2.2 million scholarships a year by 2030. Both numbers come from Treasury and IRS announcements dated October 1, and they describe a program whose rules are still proposed and whose first…

A taxpayer who gives cash to an approved scholarship fund in 2027 could trim a federal tax bill by up to $1,700, or by up to $3,400 for a married couple filing jointly, under a new credit that Treasury and the IRS began detailing on October 1. The catch is geographic: the credit applies only…

Until Thursday, October 15, a 2025 federal return can still carry four deductions that are new for tax year 2025. They cover tips, overtime, interest on a car loan and age 65 and older, and the largest single cap is $25,000. All four reduce taxable income, and all four are claimed on a new form,…

Three more states have joined the federal scholarship tax credit that starts on January 1, 2027, bringing the total to 30. The IRS list, current as of September 14, 2026, is up from 27 in the agency’s June announcement. The credit, created in Trump’s tax law, lets taxpayers in participating states give cash to scholarship…

Charitable gifts have always been worth a deduction only to households that itemize. This year, a new hurdle sits in front of that deduction. Under Trump’s tax law, itemizers cannot write off the first 0.5 percent of their income in charitable gifts, so a household with a $200,000 income gives away the first $1,000 without…

A gambler who wins $10,000 over a year and loses $10,000 has, on paper, gone nowhere. Starting with tax year 2026, that person can still owe tax. For gamblers who itemize, the deduction for losses is now capped at 90 percent of the losses, while every dollar of winnings stays in income. Breaking even can…

Parents paying for child care so they can work can claim a bigger slice of the bill back on their 2026 tax return. Under Trump’s tax law, the child care tax credit, formally the credit for child and dependent care expenses, can now reach up to 50 percent of qualifying costs, up from a 35…

Homeowners who pay mortgage insurance and itemize their deductions can write those premiums off again for tax year 2026. The break disappeared for premiums paid after 2021 and could not be claimed on 2025 returns. IRS Publication 505 for 2026 now says the election is permanent, a change that arrives through the 2025 tax law…

Farmers and ranchers who sold cattle or other breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought conditions now have extra time before they have to pay federal tax on that sale. The Internal Revenue Service announced on September 15 that its drought-related livestock tax relief now covers 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico…

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have finished the rulebook for the new car loan interest deduction, and the fine print separates two buyers who look nearly identical standing on the same dealer lot. One finances a demonstrator car, the vehicle a dealership keeps on hand for test drives, and qualifies. The other…